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Marketing tactics and parents loyalty: the mediating role of school image
Chung-Kai Li and Chia-Hung Hung
Ling Tung University, Taichung, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to investigate how marketing tactics can enhance parents loyalty in the educational context. Building on extant research, it proposes an integrated framework in which perceived marketing tactics are related to school image, which in turn is related to parents loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Five marketing tactics are selected. A questionnaire is constructed, and data are collected from 1,200 parents of schoolchildren studying in 60 elementary schools in Taiwan. A multiple regression analysis is conducted to analyze the data. Findings The results show that the selected marketing tactics all signicantly and meaningfully predicted the perception of school image, however promotion tactics were the most effective strategy. In addition school image is an effective predictor of parents behavior. Finally school image mediates the relationship between marketing tactics and parents loyalty. Originality/value The nding suggests that school administrators can use marketing tactics in order to enhance school image that in turn leads to parents school choice and word-of-mouth. Keywords Marketing strategy, Schools, Parents, Taiwan Paper type Research paper

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Received November 2007 Revised March 2008 Accepted May 2008

Introduction Educational marketing has been introduced into the compulsory education arena in many Western countries throughout the 1980s and 1990s (Oplatka and Hemsley-Brown, 2004); however, this topic is hardly discussed in Eastern countries despite the fact that the survival of many schools is dependent on their capacity to retain or increase the recruitment of students. This is particularly true of Taiwan, where schools currently face increasing competitive environments due to the dramatic decrease in birth rate, births dropping from 324,980 to 205,721 in the past decade (Ministry of the Interior, 2007). Interestingly, although in education studies a long research tradition exists that deals with the subject of student loyalty (Helgesen and Nesset, 2007; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2001) or parents satisfaction (Friedman et al., 2006), empirical research which focuses on the incorporation of marketing activities in schools in order to improve school image and thus successfully retain and recruit students is scarce. Furthermore, although the existing literature explores a wide variety of factors relevant to parents satisfaction with their childrens school (Friedman et al., 2007, 2006), the researcher disagrees as to which one best contributes to parents satisfaction which in turn further inuences parents intention and behavior (Friedman et al., 2007, 2006). For the current study, we focus on some selected elements of marketing tactics. In particular, we select ve key elements, namely, product mix, people mix, price mix, place mix, and promotion mix as representative of marketing programs. Our research

Journal of Educational Administration Vol. 47 No. 4, 2009 pp. 477-489 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0957-8234 DOI 10.1108/09578230910967455

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will investigate whether certain marketing tactics contribute to school image and then to parents attitudes and behavior. The results will enable school principals to decide whether to initiate marketing plans and how to deliver them most effectively. We seek to answer the following research questions: . Which marketing tactics are most effective for building school image? . Does a favorable school image increase parents loyalty to their childrens school? . Is school image, as a mediating variable, effective in inuencing the relationship between marketing tactics and parents loyalty? Conceptual model and hypotheses The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between school marketing tactics, parents perception of school image and parents loyalty. Figure 1 depicts the research model underlying our study. We separated our model into two portions. Portion 1 deals with parents perception of marketing tactics and their effect on school image. Portion 2 includes school image as a predictor of parents loyalty. Below we present the literature review and the hypotheses developed. Research hypotheses Marketing tactics and school image. Kotler and Fox (1995) dened educational marketing as the analysis, planning, implementation, and control of carefully formulated programs designed to bring about voluntary exchanges of values with a target market to achieve organizational objects. In this study, we investigated parents perceptions of ve selected strategic marketing elements, namely, product, people, price, place, and promotion. The selected factors do not embrace all types of marketing efforts but are representative of the marketing efforts towards the formation of school image. . Product mix. Product mix in this study refers to school infrastructure such as the library, computers, and teaching facilities. Price et al.s (2003) study showed that students perceptions of a universitys facilities are one of the main inuences for their choice of school. Other empirical studies support the view that satisfaction with the facilities and equipment is positively related to overall school satisfaction (Friedman et al., 2006), which in turn enhances students loyalty (Helgesen and Nesset, 2007). Palacio et al.s (2002) study also showed that the facility component of cognitive image positively and signicantly inuences the overall image of the university.

Figure 1. Predicted relationships among marketing tactics, school image, and parents loyalty

People mix. People mix in this study refers to teachers ability, skill, knowledge, experience, and care for the students. Douglas et al. (2006) asserted that the most important aspects that inuence students satisfaction were associated with teaching and learning, while a number of scholars support the view that teachers ability, communication, and expertise are positively related to overall school satisfaction (Friedman et al., 2006; Marzo-Navarro et al., 2005) which in turn enhances students loyalty (Helgesen and Nesset, 2007). Palacio et al.s (2002) study also showed that the teaching staff component of the cognitive image positively and signicantly inuences the overall image of a university. Services are delivered to the student by the teacher, and this moment of truth can make or break a universitys image (Banwet and Datta, 2003). Price mix. According to the Ministry of Education (MOE), all elementary schools in Taiwan must charge the same tuition fee. Therefore, price mix in this study will examine a variety of scholarships and bursaries. Marzo-Navarro et al. (2005) showed that price of enrolment is one of the key elements that have an impact on student satisfaction, and this satisfaction then prompts people to recommend the courses. Place mix. Place mix in this study refers to whether the schools location is accessible and transport is convenient. Place appears as a heterogeneous phenomenon, which is created by each school at each place. Although it is a way of combining local and distant resources, location convenience reduces the time parents and students must travel back and forth from school every day, thus feeling they get more value from the school. The increased value results from the reduction in time sacrices that the parents must make to escort the child to school which in turn leads to the parents higher perception of the school image (Yoo et al., 2000). Although there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this relationship, it appears logical that place mix is associated with school image. Promotion mix. In this study, promotion mix refers to information sharing with parents via formal or informal media (e.g. leaets, letters, brochures, internet portals, or PTA meetings). Most schools engage in press and non-press public relations. Schools in many countries that have adopted educational market policies have expended much effort in gaining enhanced press coverage of their activities in order to promote their image and recruit prospective students (Oplatka and Hemsley-Brown, 2004).

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School image can be formed by many different factors and is the result of a cumulative process that incorporates experience over time, diverse information, and marketing activities of the school. The established and developed school image can be rapidly improved by technological breakthroughs and unexpected achievements or, conversely, be destroyed by neglect of the needs and expectations of various parents who interact with the school (Nguyen and Leblanc, 2001a). However, school image can be enhanced when parents are satised with the perceived school marketing activities. Thus, the rst hypothesis is as follows: H1. A selected school marketing mix, namely (H1a) product, (H1b) people, (H1c) price, (H1d ) place, and (H1e) promotion, is positively related to school image.

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School image and parents loyalty. The development, maintenance, and enhancement of customer loyalty toward a rms products or services are generally seen as the central thrust of marketing activities (Dick and Basu, 1994). Higher customer loyalty implies higher market share and protability (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1988; Reichheld et al., 2000). This increased customer loyalty can also help lower marketing costs, solicit more customers, and effectively operate trading leverage (Aaker, 1997). Moreover, loyal customers foster positive word-of-mouth promotion, advocacy, and customer referrals (Dick and Basu, 1994). It is no surprise then that companies want to retain and develop their loyal customers. Paralleling the related concept of customer loyalty, parents loyalty contains an attitudinal and a behavioral component (Dick and Basu, 1994). The term parents loyalty means that parents hold a deep commitment to register at a preferred educational institution consistently in the future, to provide positive word of mouth, to recommend the service to others, and to encourage others to use the service (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Due to the present critical educational situation (e.g. supply exceeds demand) in Taiwan, it is important that parents are committed to the educational institution. Loyal parents who allow their child to study at the same primary school until their education is complete can be good advocates recommending the school to other parents and encouraging other children to study there thus helping to attract new students. Parents form an image of the school based on the associations they remember with respect to that school. Therefore, school image is the result of an aggregate process by which parents compare and contrast the various attributes of schools. Numerous scholars assert that corporate image is associated with customers accumulated experiences and market communication with products and services such that the more favorable the corporate image, the more customers will perceive quality, value, and satisfaction, and the more loyalty they will have to the company (Andreassen and Lindestand, 1998a; Johnson et al., 2001). In relation to this, Oliver (1999) asserted that attitudes are functionally related to customer behavioral intentions, which predict actual behavior. Therefore, perceptions of school image form attitudes which in turn inuence parents loyalty, that is, a favorable perception of school image is suggested to be positively related to parents loyalty (Andreassen and Lindestand, 1998a, b; Dick and Basu, 1994; Helgesen and Nesset, 2007; Nguyen and Leblanc, 2001a; Palacio et al., 2002). Thus, the second hypothesis is as follows: H2. A favorable school image is positively related to parents loyalty. Alternative model. In addition, we propose that the relationship between marketing tactics and parents loyalty is partially mediated by school image, which suggests a direct link between marketing tactics and parents loyalty. Research method Sample and data collection The samples for this study were parents whose children study at elementary schools in Taiwan and have at least one year of contact experience with teachers or the school. Adopting convenience sampling, the questionnaire survey covered parents from 54 elementary schools, of which the nal sample of 769 represented an effective response ratio of 63.3 percent, with females accounting for 67.1 percent of the sample. Majority

of the respondents (62.8 percent) were aged 31 to 40 years, 50.8 percent of them graduated from high school, 43.6 percent have three children, and their average income per month (33 percent) was TW$40,000-60,000. Measures All items were measured on ve-point Likert-type scales, with the items ranging from 1 (strongly dissatised/disagree) to 5 (strongly satised/agree). Mean scale scores were calculated for all measures. Marketing tactics. This is the independent variable of this study. We examined the perceived rather than the actual marketing mix. As Yoo et al. (2000) suggested, perceived marketing efforts have a stronger meaning and hence explain consumer behaviors more effectively than actual marketing efforts. The scale employed was developed by the authors through a process described as follows (Devellis, 1991): . Items were rst collected from extant lectures (Douglas et al., 2006; Friedman et al., 2006; Joseph et al., 2005; Marzo-Navarro et al., 2005; Soutar and Turner, 2002), then further interviews were conducted with parents, teachers, and principals, and nally, 29 items were generated. . We pre-tested our survey with a convenience sample of 80 parents. . A scale reliability and validity procedure was established using item analysis, item-to-total correlation, Cronbachs alphas, and exploratory factor analysis. Parents loyalty. Parents loyalty is the dependent variable in this study. It was measured using a ve-item scale similar to those used by Zeithaml et al. (1996), Nguyen and Leblanc (2001b) and Helgesen and Nesset (2007). Sample items include if I have a preschool child, I will continue to let him/her attend the same school, when my child is entering an elementary school, this school will be my rst choice, and when my relatives or friends need information about school, I will voluntarily recommend this school. The coefcient alpha was 0.9128. School image. School image was used as mediator variable for this study. It was measured according to the factors of reputation and credibility (Martinez and Pina, 2005; Pina and Martinez, 2006). With respect to the higher-order construct of school image, we employed a second-order conrmatory factor analysis model. The results indicated a good t for the data. Then, the included items were calculated to create reputation and credibility factors. Subsequently, these two factors were treated as indicators to measure the school image construct. Coefcient alpha was 0.9333. Analysis and results Table I contains the factor analysis results of the 26 (see Appendix) marketing tactics indices. The exploratory factor analysis was based on the principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation, eigenvalue exceed 1 and factor loadings exceeding 0.5. The test value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was 0.939 and the p-value of the Bartletts sphericity test was signicant ( p , 0.001), suggested the use of a factor analysis. In the end, 26 out of 29 items of marketing tactics were identied that had a factor loading over 0.5, and ve factors (product mix, people mix, price mix, place mix, and promotion mix) with eigenvalues larger than 1 were extracted. The total percentage of the variance explained for marketing tactics was 64.740 percent. In the social sciences, it is

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Variables Product1 Product2 Product3 Product4 People1 People2 People3 People4 People5 People6 People7 People8 Price1 Price2 Price3 Price4 Price5 Place1 Place2 Place3 Promotion1 Promotion2 Promotion3 Promotion4 Promotion5 Promotion6 Eigenvalue Variance explained (%)

Product mix 0.723 0.603 0.767 0.716

People mix

Price mix

Place mix

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482

0.698 0.784 0.764 0.830 0.821 0.792 0.763 0.722 0.563 0.660 0.735 0.789 0.753 0.656 0.736 0.804 0.696 0.746 0.700 0.744 0.752 0.709 3.844 14.785

Table I. Result of exploratory factor analysis: marketing tactics

2.436 9.370

5.456 20.986

3.059 11.765

2.037 7.833

Note: Cumulative variance explained 64.740 percent

common to consider as satisfactory a solution that accounts for 60 percent of the total variance (Hair et al., 1998). The coefcient alpha ranged from 0.7480 to 0.9319. Table II presents the means, standard deviations, reliability estimates, and correlations among variables. The mean and standard deviation are within the expected ranges. The scales met the generally accepted reliability of 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978). We tested our hypotheses with three separate multiple regression analyses. The
M Product People Price Place Promotion Image Loyalty 3.747 4.094 3.989 3.893 3.784 3.839 3.852 SD 0.581 0.542 0.577 0.635 0.592 0.618 0.704

a
0.7671 0.9319 0.8424 0.7480 0.8743 0.9333 0.9505

1 1 0.480 * 0.457 * 0.407 * 0.454 * 0.517 * 0.456 *

2 1 0.557 * 0.387 * 0.448 * 0.578 * 0.516 *

Table II. Means, standard deviations, reliability, and correlations

1 0.459 * 0.520 * 0.558 * 0.514 *

1 0.536 * 0.502 * 0.451 *

1 0.612 * 0.539 *

1 0.801 *

Notes: *p , 0.01 (two-tailed)

rst analysis included all of the hypothesized antecedents; the second analysis included the hypothesized consequences; the nal regression analysis veried the mediate relationship of school image between marketing tactics and parents loyalty. We tested each hypothesis by examining coefcients signicance. H1, the relationship between marketing tactics and school image was tested in a simultaneous multiple regression model that included all ve measures of marketing tactics. The results in Table III show that product mix (b 0:149, p , 0.001), people mix (b 0:248, p , 0.001), price mix (b 0:144, p , 0.001), place mix (b 0:123, p , 0.001), and promotion mix (b 0:292, p , 0.001) all positively and signicantly inuenced school image, thus supporting H1. Full empirical support was found for the relationship between marketing tactics and school image. H2 examined the relationship between school image and parents loyalty. The nding in Table III strongly supported the hypothesis, as school image was found to inuence parents loyalty positively and signicantly (b 0:801, p , 0.001), thus H2 was also supported. To test the hypothesized mediating role of school image, we rst assessed the following conditions for mediation (Baron and Kenny, 1986): . the independent variable (marketing tactics) must be related to the mediator (school image); . the mediator must be related to the dependent variable(parents loyalty); . the independent variable must be related to the dependent variable; and . the independent variable must have no effect on the dependent variable when the mediator is held constant (full mediation) or should become signicantly smaller (partial mediation). The rst and second conditions both were supported by H1 and H2. For the third condition, that the independent variable affects the dependent variable as shown in Table IV, the results indicate that marketing tactics (product 0:124, p , 0.001; people 0:216, p , 0.001; price 0:159, p , 0.001; place 0:114, p , 0.01; promotion 0:242, p , 0.001) positively and signicantly inuenced parents loyalty. To evaluate the nal condition, when school image was added to the equation, we compared the two models as shown in Table IV. The results showed that
DV IV Product People Price Place Promotion School image F R2 Note: *p , 0.001 School image (H1) b t-value 0.149 * 0.248 * 0.144 * 0.123 * 0.292 * 180.044 * 0.541 4.966 7.904 4.405 4.032 9.094 0.801 * 1369.691 * 0.641 37.009 Parents loyalty (H2) b t-value

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Table III. Tests of the hypotheses

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Product People Price Place Promotion School image F R2 DR 2

Model 1

Model 2 t-value 3.698 6.168 4.391 3.375 6.670

b
0.124 * * * 0.216 * * * 0.159 * * * 0.114 * * 0.242 * * * 115.867 * * * 0.432

b
0.020 0.044 0.060 * 0.029 0.039 0.693 * * * 237.547 * * * 0.652 0.220

t-value 0.764 1.535 2.080 1.094 1.336 21.938

484

Table IV. Tests of the mediating effect of school image

Notes: *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01; * * *p , 0.001

product mix (b 0:020, p . 0.05), people mix (b 0:248, p . 0.05), place mix (b 0:123, p . 0.05), and promotion mix (b 0:292, p . 0.05) were no longer signicant, though price mix (b 0:60, p , 0.05) was still signicant but its strength decreased, therefore the relationship between marketing tactics and parents loyalty was mediated by school image. This suggests that price mix inuences parents loyalty directly and indirectly through school image (partial mediation), but product mix, people mix, place mix, and promotion mix inuence parents loyalty only indirectly through school image (full mediation). Conclusion and implications This study examines the effects of selected marketing strategies on parents loyalty to their childrens school. Specically, we investigated the relational linkage between ve perceived marketing activities and parents loyalty through the mediating role of school image and found some important implications for the formation of parents loyalty to elementary schools. Impact of marketing tactics on school image As to the rst research problem, we found that all the selected marketing strategies had favorable inuences on parents associated with school image. Empirical results indicated that the higher the parents perception of marketing efforts, the more favorable the school image will be. However, the amount of inuence the selected marketing strategies had, differed. Promotion tactics were the most signicant factors inuencing school image, followed by people tactics, product tactics, and price tactics. Place tactics had the weakest effects. School image is complicated because it is based on multiple experiences, facts, episodes, and information, and it therefore takes a long time to develop (Yoo et al., 2000). In this study, we found that school image can develop through physical facilities and equipment; teachers skill, ability, and knowledge; nancial aid; location convenient to access; brochures, internet postings, or symposium. Our study showed the importance and the roles of various marketing efforts in building a favorable school image. As such, school principals can relate these ndings to their image-building strategies.

The question of whether schools should engage in marketing activities is still contested and presents as an emerging dilemma (Oplatka and Hemsley-Brown, 2004). However, in the highly competitive and rapidly changing education system, survival becomes one of the most important goals for schools. In other words, how to maintain or even enhance school image has become an important success indicator for schools (Zeithaml et al., 1996). The empirical results of this study show that a schools dedication to marketing mix programs is worthwhile as the perceptions of that marketing investment can enhance a schools image. Thus, building a distinctive position is a successful strategy for enhancing competitiveness by educational institutions. Impact of school image on parents loyalty As to the second research problem, consumers who had positive perceptions of a schools marketing effort were more likely to have a favorable school image. This in turn inuences parents positive word-of-mouth, school choice, and retention. The results suggest that school image can act as a useful tool for predicting parents loyalty. School image can either support or destroy parents beliefs about acquiring value, thereby directly inuencing parents attitude and behavior (Abdullah et al., 2000). School image in that way acts as a gatekeeper to further elaborations. When the school image is favorable, the positive impression enhances the possibility that that school will be chosen, retained and enjoy positive word-of-mouth. Implications This study has made several contributions to the literature. First, we built an integrated framework to shed light on the relationship between marketing mix strategies, school image, and parents loyalty. We demonstrated that different marketing tactics have a differential impact on school image. Second, the empirical results found that school image has a strong inuence on parents loyalty. The school image that we studied was formed by ve different marketing tactics. We found that, of these, school-parent one-way or two-way communication has the strongest effect on enhancing positive school image, while place tactics has the least important effect. We conclude that promotion tactics through communication is possibly one of the most important platforms on which school image may be built. Third, this study could enrich the body of knowledge regarding parents loyalty by providing empirical support for the effects of marketing mix strategies on school image and loyalty effectiveness. In terms of implications for managers of educational institutions, identifying marketing tactics that foster parents loyalty is of great importance. However, we found that, while image is very important in management terms, image has intangible aspects that are not easy to be duplicated by competitors and hence play a prominent role in attracting loyalties. Those schools that have a strong, distinctive image will be more successful in facing their competitors. In order to build a favorable image, it is essential to identify rst the target students and then design and develop more suitable and effective marketing strategies so that the marketing efforts can be recognized by the students or parents; thus, the further enhancement of a positive image will lead to desirable outcomes. In short, schools that depend on word-of-mouth strategies to

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recruit new students or on loyalty strategies to retain existing students should carefully analyze, plan, and implement effective marketing programs because some marketing tactics can be more effective than others. In an era when birth rate is decreasing dramatically, it is vitally important to develop not only a marketing plan but an effective marketing plan that assures the survival of the school. Limitations and further research Some limitations of this research should be mentioned. First, the sample was collected from parents who have children studying at elementary schools in Taiwan, the results of which are interesting, but which cannot be assumed to apply to other sectors of the education system, or to elementary schools in other countries. Therefore, further research should be conducted in another education system and in other countries in order to conrm the validity of the results. Second, further research should incorporate other key factors promoting school image besides the ve used here. Third, parents choice of an elementary school is inuenced also by individual differences, so further research ought to consider family differences as moderators.
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Appendix. The questionnaire Product mix (1) (2) There are sufcient facilities such as computer equipment, recreational equipment, books, etc. The school environment is safe. There are sufcient professional classrooms such as computer classrooms, music classrooms, science laboratory, etc. There is sufcient space for activities such as playground, activity center, etc.

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(3) (4)

People mix (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) Teachers are qualied and have professional knowledge on what they teach. Teachers are enthusiastic about education and are devoted to it. Teachers are able to learn new knowledge from workshops or seminars to improve their teaching skills. Teachers can express themselves clearly. Teachers can adopt appropriate teaching techniques when teaching. Teachers are behaving properly. Teachers are energetic. Teachers genuinely care for their students.

Price mix (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) The school provides free or partially free tuition to poor students. The school can offer students lunches at a competitive price. Parents know clearly the details and usages of paid fees. The tuition and miscellaneous fees of the school are reasonable. All the fees collected by the school are standard fees regulated by the government.

Place mix (18) (19) (20) There is sufcient parking space for vehicles. The school plans routes for students who come to school, and there are guide people to assist them. The school plans areas for parents to pick up their children.

Promotion mix (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) The school prints magazines or papers to report or convey its ideals. The latest news is broadcast by the school at any time. The school broadcasts the achievements of students after they participated in activities or competitions. The school holds a teaching demonstration day or PTA for parents to attend so as to achieve mutual communication with them. The school holds exhibitions or performances of students and invites parents or people living in the neighborhood to join. The school uses mass media such as newspapers or television, or holds activities such as graduation ceremonies or sports meets to let others know more about the school.

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Parents loyalty (1) If I have a preschool child, I will continue to let him/ her attend the same school. (2) When my child is entering an elementary school, this school will be my rst choice. (3) When my relatives or friends need information about school, I will voluntarily recommend this school. (4) I will encourage my relatives or friends to let their children study in this school. (5) When talking about school with my relatives or friends, I will praise this school voluntarily.

Corresponding author Chung-Kai Li can be contacted at: ltctht39@mail.ltu.edu.tw

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